How Kobe, Serena and the Legion of Zoom Will Challenge You to be FASTER

Nike’s new “Find Your Fast” campaign features an all-star athlete cast and inspires everyone to run their fastest mile.

As anyone who runs regularly knows, getting faster doesn’t come easy. Nike’s “Find Your Fast” campaign brings together some of the planet’s beacons of speed to inspire athletes to run or train for their fastest time this summer. Whether preparing for a first mile or looking to shave seconds or minutes off a personal record, all athletes can get faster.

Neal Brennan, co-creator of the Chappelle Show, collaborated with Nike on the direction of the campaign's anthem piece, “Find Your Fast.” Quick highlights include a fast cameo from one of the world’s fastest men, Michael Johnson; the world’s fastest woman, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce; the world’s fastest commercial starring Kobe Bryant and world famous magician David Blaine; the fastest of the Looney Tunes characters -Road Runner and a nod to one of Nike’s speediest running shoes, the Nike Air Zoom Elite 8.

"Fast can be about beating the defender to a spot, or not letting the offensive player get to his spot," explains Kobe Bryant about the importance of fast on the basketball court.

Many of these athletes train or compete in shoes with Nike Zoom Air technology. The Nike Zoom Air Elite, a favorite amongst many top runners, plays a star role in the ad. Whether quickly moving from shot to shot during a fast paced tennis match, speedy lateral changes in a football game or quick bursts of speed on the basketball court, Zoom allows athletes of every caliber can optimize their quest for speed.

“Everything about my training is speed. Even if I'm running 300-meter repeats in training, or if I’m weightlifting, I'm thinking about speed. I try to do everything very fast because the quicker you can be in your training, the better it is for you as a runner,” says Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

AN INVITATION TO RUN

The world may get a little faster when the spot launches July 2, and the Nike+ community focuses on a summer of speed. We’re inviting all athletes to start gaining speed with the Nike+ Run Club and Nike+ Training Club Find Your Fast Challenges. Then on August 30th, you’ll be ready to run your fastest mile, alongside the fastest elites from around the world, competing at the World Track and Field Championships in Beijing.

"Nike has always been a brand in service of athletes. And while every athlete wants to get faster, not every athlete has the right tools to do so,” says Adam Roth, Nike VP, Global Running Brand Marketing, "Our Find Your Fast campaign provides all the inspiration, innovation and enablement athletes need to run, train and play faster across our physical products, digital apps and live experiences. It’s the entire Find Your Fast eco-system that’s game-changing, not just for us but for the athletes we serve."

NIKE+ RUN CLUB FIND YOUR FAST CHALLENGE:

Speed is an integral ingredient in any Nike+ Run Club Training Program. Nike+ Run Club coaches developed an eight week program that will help you run your fastest mile, whether it’s your first, funnest or PR. The program includes workouts, music for motivation and expert tips to get you faster and better. And you won’t be running alone, Road Runner, who makes a 'speed of sound' cameo in the 'So Fast' campaign, will bring along his friends from "Lift Off" (week 1) to "Beep Beep" (week 8), from speed to endurance, they will set the pace to catpult your training week after week.

NIKE+ TRAINING CLUB FIND YOUR FAST CHALLENGE:

Six Nike Master Trainers are joining forces this summer to launch a 12-week fitness challenge for the Nike+ Training Club (NTC) App. The Find Your Fast NTC Challenge is specifically designed to improve speed, power, and agility through a diverse set of daily workouts.

The Challenge starts July 6 and the first Master Trainer workout — Marie Purvis’s Ready, Set, Zoom workout — debuts July 7. After that, a new workout headlined by a different Nike Master Trainer will launch every two weeks, highlighting different types of training to help you feel faster, such as high intensity training, yoga, strength training and barre.

On August 30, you will be challenged to run your fastest mile alongside the Nike+Run Club and the elites speeding towards victory in Beijing. Stay up to date with the Find Your Fast NTC Challenge by following the Nike Sport Feed in the NTC App.

THE SO FAST TEAM...

A series of short films featuring thirteen of the world’s elite athletes highlighted in the campaign.

“I’m fast at learning new things. I once had to play Carmelo in a video game. Played once, then beat Melo when we played.”

– Kobe Bryant

5-Time NBA Champion - Basketball

“Fast in tennis means always being in the point. No matter what an opponent sends my way I can get it. Because you can’t hit what you can’t reach!”

– Serena Williams

20-Time Grand-Slam Champion - Tennis

“Fast in my sport? It takes on many different aspects. It’s not just about going as fast as you can possibly run the whole time - strategy is important.”

– Allyson Felix

Olympic Gold Medalist: 200M / 4x100M / 4x400M - Track and Field

“What else am I fast at? I’m fast at running after my kids. I’ve got two young boys who are at the age they’re running around everywhere so I’ve got to keep a close eye on them and often find myself chasing after them.”

– Wayne Rooney

3-Time England Player of the Year - Football

“Being fast in tennis is everything. If I’m quicker to the ball I’m in greater control and I can exert my will on the match and the opponent. Fast wins matches. I want everything about me on court to be fast.”

– Rafael Nadal

14-Time Grand-Slam Champion - Tennis

Richard Sherman

Championship Football Player, Seattle – American Football

Mo Farah

Olympic Gold Medalist: 5,000M / 10,000M - Track and Field

“In the heptathlon, speed is a vital part of getting a good overall score. It’s a part of every event, even including the shot. Explosiveness is key! ”

– Katarina Johnson-Thompson

2014 World Number One: Heptathlon - Track and Field

“People don’t know that in some of my fastest races, while running I feel slow. Then you see the time and wow.”

– Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Olympic Gold Medalist: 100M - Track and Field

“I get the board to spin fast by knowing exactly how to do each part of the trick and adding it together quickly”

– Shane O'Neill

Pro Skater - Skateboarding

Odell Beckham Jr.

Offensive Rookie of the year- American Football

Marcus Mariota

2nd Overall Draft pick - American Football

“If you are fast enough, speed can offset any other attribute a fighter has. Speed wins.”